DW BUREAU / chandigarh Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said that the targets set under Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Atal Bhujal Yojana should be completed within a stipulated time period so that this year too Haryana emerges as the top-performing state like last year. Sanjeev Kaushal said this while presiding over a State Inter-Departmental Steering Committee (SISC) meeting regarding the implementation of Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Atal Bhujal Yojana with Deputy Commissioners through video conferencing here today. In the meeting, the action plan for this year under Atal Bhujal Yojana was approved. While directing the Deputy Commissioners, the Chief Secretary said that this year 10 percent more targets have been given to Haryana under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan as compared to last year, therefore the Nodal Officers of all the concerned departments in the districts should focus on completing the short-term targets while working in coordination with each other. It was informed in the meeting that Haryana is the best-performing state in the country in terms of the implementation of the Atal Bhujal Yojana. The main objective of this scheme is to create a hydrogeological data network of groundwater resources in Haryana and reduce the groundwater scarcity by 50 percent in the state as well as create community institutions for the management of groundwater resources. It was informed in the meeting that a total of 14 districts of Haryana are being covered under this scheme. It consists of 36 groundwater stressed blocks with a total of 1669 Gram Panchayats. Initially, a water security plan for each village would be prepared and implemented in the coming years. Piezometers will be installed for recording the level of groundwater, which have been procured. Apart from this, plans for full utilization of water will also be prepared. In addition, the Haryana Water Resources (Conservation, Regulation and Management) Authority has divided the state into seven zones on the basis of the depth status of the groundwater table as of June 2020, leading to groundwater management. Various schemes can be made at the village level to increase the water level. The Chief Secretary was apprised that emphasis will be laid on institutional strengthening and capacity building of various stakeholders involved in making the state water-safe so that complete data is made available in one place and accordingly to which the plans can be implemented. JSA CTR is a nation wide water conservation campaign initiated by Government of India and coordinated by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti. The campaign was launched in July 2019 with major focus on water conservation in India's most water-stressed districts and water resource management by focusing on accelerated implementation of five targeted interventions namely Water Conservation and rain water harvesting, Renovation of traditional and other water bodies Reuse of Water and recharging of structures, Watershed Development and Intensive afforestation. In the meeting, it was informed that Haryana was one of the top-performing states in 2021 in terms of implementation of Jal Shakti Abhiyan. The Union Jal Shakti Minister had appreciated the work done by Haryana for "Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain 2021". This year also, the Central Government has decided to continue Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain-2022 with the same zeal and enthusiasm. Jal Shakti Abhiyan's (JSA) Catch the Rain (CTR) campaign is focused on saving and conserving rainwater. Realizing the same, as many as 49,771 rainwater harvesting structures, renovations of around 9533 traditional water bodies. (editor@dailyworld.in)